Jean Cottereau, called Jean Chouan
Date of Birth
October 30, 1757
Date of Death
July 29, 1794
About
Jean Cottereau, a smuggler from Mayenne known as Jean Chouan, gave his nickname to the royalist insurgents known as the Chouans. From 1792, he led a local band operating around Saint-Ouën-des-Toits and the wooded countryside north of Laval. His role was that of a local commander rather than a strategist of the wider insurrection, but accounts of his activities and death helped turn him into one of the best-known figures of the Chouannerie.